Alexandre Mato (Brussels) | Protectionism and government interference has buried the corporate operation of the year. Fiat Chrysler withdrew its 33 billion euro offer to merge with Renault Nissan, based on a car which had barely begun its race to third position in the car making world.
The German auction of 5G frequencies ended this week. Telefonica’s subsidiary in Germany was awarded a total 90MHz, for a cost of 1.425 Bn€, 22% of the total raised by the auction of 6.55 Bn€, higher than the expected 5 Bn€. Telefonica Deutschland was awarded 2 blocks in the 2GHz band and 7 blocks in the 3.6 GHz band. The assignment of the 2 GHz block will happen on 1 January 2021 and the other on 1 January 2026.
CaixaBank Research | The car sector’s contribution to the economy goes beyond its own production volume. In fact, it generates a significant spillover effect. Estimates say that 1 € rise in the production of cars generates a rise in the total production of the European economy of 2.4 €.
Yiannis Mouzakis via Macropolis | As Greece heads into snap national polls on July 7, it is beyond doubt that there has been a substantial shift in Greek voters’ views and preferences, which translated into a strong rejection of Syriza across society.
“There is no probability of deflation, there is very low probability of recession, there are no threats of de-anchoring of inflation expectations,” Mario Draghi said on Thursday. The governor of the European Central Bank announced once again – as he did in March – that it will delay the rate hike at least until 2020 and kept all options open, especially in case economic prospects deteriorate. ECB’s decision is in line with those of other central banks in the world. The Fed has just opened the door to a rate cut, something that Australia and India have already done.
Intermoney | In 2018, the number of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects completed in the Old Continent (according to a survey by EY) fell by 4%, even if the falls were greater in the UK and Germany where the fall was about 13% compared to stability in France. However, the countries with the biggest falls were Italy (-63%) and Ireland (-52%).
Julian Göpffarth via Fair Observer | The Green success in Germany hardly comes as a surprise. While in the past years the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) dominated German politics, more recently the Greens’ consistently strong performance in the polls pointed to a trend almost diametrically opposed to the AfD’s nativism. The Fridays for Future demonstrations for a more determined political action against climate change were particularly strong in Germany. They indicate that a new generation is entering German politics. In opposition to the AfD, this generation is pro-European and anti-nationalist. But, like the AfD, it is a trend against politics as usual.
Morgan Stanley | Fitch has raised its rating perspective for Portugal to positive. This was unexpected and seems to support the market thesis that Portugal’s fundamentals are at similar levels to Spain and Italy. Our macro analysts agree but see posible downside risks.
Link Securities | According to Bloomberg, citing sources close to the issue, the European Commission is considering opening disciplinary proceedings against Italy next week because of its inability to control its debt.
Shaun Riordan | The elections to the European Parliament in the UK were always something of a farce. Because of the inability of the British political class to decide what kind of Brexit it wanted, if indeed it wanted Brexit at all, British voters were forced to elect members to the parliament of a Union which, in theory at least, they will leave in five months. But they were also something of an anti-climax.